Next Up on Your Illegal Banking “Hit List:” Fixing Gold Prices

Next up in the parade of banking bad boys are Barclays Plc (BCS) and Deutsche Bank AG (DB), which both stand accused of manipulating the London gold fix (a benchmark price used in the $20 trillion gold market). In all, 5 banks are involved in the lawsuit claiming the fix was in on this century-old benchmark. In addition to BCS and DB, Bank of Novia Scotia, HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBC) and Societe Generale SA (GLE) were also named in Manhattan federal court yesterday. The suit claims that unusual pricing patterns suggest manipulation since 2004. Does that mean it’s time to dump shares of any of these banks? Not according to Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Renee Calabro, who stated “We believe this suit is without merit…” But given the banking community’s recent track record of dubious activity, does anyone believer her?